| Prologue |

5 years ago...

It was high noon at the Wolf Moon Pack when more than half of the pack members gathered around the battle training grounds.

At any other time, not all pack members were allowed to cross over to this area. It was normally prohibited for regular pack members to enter this side of the land unless they were here for the mandatory pack training which had always been required for the pack to attend—for both male and female—no matter what rank they have in the pack. Today had become an exception to the rules, as the whole pack were invited to witness the annual pack assessment trial to elect the new batch of Enforcers to protect the pack's grounds.

At times, there would even be a few pack members who would take the chance to offer a challenge for the higher ranks, since the Alpha had opened more than one spot for each of the upper ranks in order to help him lead such a massive pack with its diverse pack members.

Unlike any other packs, Wolf Moon Pack was comprised of not only a colony of werewolves as their pack members, but with other shifters as well.

As one of the surviving packs from the East region that had remained strong and united ever since the end of the Blood War, surviving through various progression periods after the war which had left the shifters community struggling under a long period of dark times—with pack and land disputes, hunger, terrible droughts, the long period of grief, and most recently, The Rogue Wars—Wolf Moon Pack continued to thrive and grow, remaining resilient against the change of time, and had opted to open its borders to welcome all the broken packs and families of shifters that had lost their homelands from the continuous wars. It was the reason why there were a variety of shifters spread through the training grounds, both from the ones sparring and battling for their ranks and the spectators watching and cheering for them on the sidelines.

Today, just like any other pack assessment trials, the training grounds came to life. Spectators cheered loudly to support the warriors who were battling against one another at the center of the training ground. Warriors fought in both human forms and in their beast forms—wolves, lions, panthers—all paired in two as they fought using both their physical forces and their special techniques to defeat their opponents. The ground kept on shaking as bodies kept hitting each other. Fists against fists, claws against claws. More often than not, a beast would display their canines at its opponent, even if it would serve as nothing else but an act of intimidation and not enough to hurt more than what was necessary.

The scent of blood wafted through the air as more and more warriors were covered in injuries, while the warriors continued to battle, taken over completely with their desire to win to notice the wounds forming on their bodies. Roars and growls echoed through the valleys, announcing their animosity and releasing their rage during the fight, both to flaunt their powers and to intimidate their opponents.

As the day slowly came to end, the sparring grew more intense, more fierce, as there were only the final two spots left to claim within the Enforcers' rank, making it a sight to behold.

Fifteen-year-old Jungkook stood at the side with the higher-ranked wolves to watch the whole trial, yet he was here today not for the sake of his own entertainment, but to give his support for his family. His whole body was tense as he watched his brother in a fight against a leopard shifter for one of the last positions left to win. Together with his father, who was acting as the current Head Enforcer, and the current Alpha who was accompanied by his son and the future Alpha, Kim Namjoon, Jungkook watched the event with so much awe. While he made sure to take in everything as much as he could to watch his brother's movements carefully and learn from them, his own body was vibrating with impatience, wanting so badly to jump into the fights and make his own way to the top of the ranks.

Jungkook had been too young to join the trial, though he had already started to join the mandatory training starting two years ago, right when he just turned thirteen and way early than most of the shifters his age. Meanwhile, in the middle of the battleground, his brother, Junghyun, seemed to have won the respect of the other shifters as he fought against his opponent for his last battle of the day. With his body so built and strong and his techniques more advanced compared to his rivals, already used to fighting equally strong on both forms, he had become one of the forerunners to earn the position as Captain of the North borders' guardians, and he was certainly proving his worth as he exhausted the leopard shifter who was trying to take him down and yet kept on failing.

"Your son is good. He would be a fine addition for the Enforcers," Jungkook heard the Alpha said to his father without ever looking away from the battle, too in awe at the intensity of the battle now happening right before his eyes. He was not the only one, when the other sparring teams had even halted their own fights, paying close attention to the one fight that seemed to have caught everyone's interest.

Jungkook didn't have to look over his shoulder to know that his father was nodding his head while raising his chin proudly. The older wolf enjoyed hearing his sons getting compliments from others, especially from the Alpha. He had been the one who trained both boys himself in the hopes of having them taking over his rank once he was ready to step down from it, and he took pride in having a part in placing Junghyun in the spotlight.

"He's been preparing for this for a long time," Jungkook's father answered with pride vibrating in his voice. He must have tried to hide it and to sound more humble in front of the Alpha, but Jungkook knew him well enough to detect it. The pride, the joy, the amused tone—nothing that could slip his son's attention no matter how hard he tried to humble himself down.

But Jungkook also knew that he deserved to bask in the spotlight. His father was a great leader among the Enforcers, and he was great in training the warriors in the pack, always leading them with his iron fists but with the heart of a loving father. He had treated his warriors the same way he treated his son—with respect and care, while making sure that they would come up as the best warriors their pack could ever deserve.

Just then, a loud roar was heard from the fight and the leopard shifter dropped to the ground with a loud thud, surrendering from the fight. Junghyun, looking all mighty and glorious in his wolf form, began to howl his victory, which caused the entire crowd to erupt, both in human cheers and in the various sounds of howls and growls to join his small celebration.

Jungkook looked over to the Alpha as the man raised both of his hands to the air, celebrating the win while silencing the crowd. His voice came booming through the hills as he announced Junghyun's victory with a bright smile, while every pack member who was present held their gazes on their Alpha.

"With the power that had been vested on me by the Moon Goddess' will, I am here to declare the end of today's event, with the fulfilment of our new lineup of young Enforcers. Congratulations to every single one of our proud warriors who had joined the battle today. Win or lose, you are the pride of the Wolf Moon Pack, and you have once again proven that our pack is one of the strongest in the East region. Most and foremost, congratulations for Jeon Junghyun—"

Jungkook stole a quick glance while the Alpha gave a pause, allowing the pack to turn their attention to Junghyun who was still standing in the center of the battleground with his head bowed respectfully towards the Alpha.

"The first son of our Head Enforcer, who had claimed the top rank and will be appointed as our new captain for the North borders."

Jungkook watched how his father's chest seemed to expand with pride as the crowd cheer once again. It was already an accomplishment for Junghyun to earn his place within the Enforcers troop, but it meant a bigger deal for him to be named captain and to be placed at the North borders out of many others around the pack grounds.

The North borders had been one of the most important parts of the land, as it covered not only the main entrance leading to their homeland, but also to the packhouse and the main district of their pack where most of the local businesses and pack facilities were located in. Being the captain of the front-line borders would be the perfect stepping stone for his brother to achieve if he had wanted to take over their father's position as the Head Enforcer.

The crowd kept their eyes on the Alpha as he continued to speak, from congratulating the rest of the warriors who had won the battles, to announcing the pack's next gathering and the Initiation Ceremony coming in the next full moon. More cheers erupted at the mention of the full moon, for it was the night that would always be filled with celebration and the night of worship for their Moon Goddess.

Jungkook's eyes moved away from the Alpha to find Namjoon, the Alpha's son, looking at the crowd with eyes filled with wonder. Years older than Jungkook, the young Alpha-in-waiting was ready to claim his title. It wouldn't be a surprise if he would challenge his father for the title within the next year or perhaps right before the full moon, since the young wolf had been blessed by the Moon Goddess finding his fated mate so early in life.

It wasn't as if the Alpha himself had any intention of keeping his title much longer, when Jungkook had repeatedly overheard him talking to his Betas about preparing his son to take over and to prepare the pack to welcome the new Alpha. The only problem was the fact that there were still numerous threats haunting the pack from the outside, with the Rogue Wars just ending not too long ago and there were still broken packs coming in search for shelter, something that the Alpha had felt would be too much work for Namjoon to deal with while he was still basking on his newly mated life.

Even as a younger wolf, Jungkook could easily attest to Namjoon's ability to take over the Alpha position sooner than anyone would think. He had spent the past year training together with Namjoon to be able to witness his ability, to notice how his Alpha powers were already beginning to grow stronger within him, something that the other pack members had also felt each time Namjoon would take over leading the battle training.

As if he could sense Jungkook watching, Namjoon turned and nodded briefly. "Please send my congrats to your brother," he said, reaching out to pat Jungkook's shoulder with a firm grip before turning to meet his mate who was watching the event together with the other female spectators on the side, leaving behind a wave of his Alpha force that had seemed to be unleashed unintentionally while he was standing in front of the pack members that would one day be under his leadership.

Once the sun was set, the crowd immediately dispersed and headed back to their homes. While Jungkook and his father had to let Junghyun go to see a Healer to tend on his wounds, they both went to walk home together through the woods. His father's pride was still vibrating through his chest, his head held high, no doubt prepared to boast about his firstborn son's achievement for the night to any pack member he would come across.

"Ah, your mother just said that she's cooking a special dinner. Your brother's favourite meal," his father excitedly said all so suddenly with his eyes sparkling the way they always did when he was talking to his mate, Jungkook's mother, through the mind-link.

It was a way for werewolves and other shifters to communicate with each other, though in the present day, it was hard for any shifter to mind-link just anyone. Not unless it was done by the Alpha to his pack or between those with strong bonds to each other—either between Pure Born wolves and their family members or between fated mates—as it was the bond which allowed them to communicate even through the distance.

"Is it roasted chicken?" Jungkook questioned his father when the man gave a pause and a teasing grin, and Jungkook immediately heard his stomach growling in hunger once his father nodded.

"It's your favourite too, isn't it? Your mother said that she had chosen something that both of you boys would love, so you can all enjoy the dinner without feeling left out," his father said while ruffling Jungkook's hair, making the boy giggle.

"She doesn't have to do that, it's Junghyun who needs to be celebrated anyway. He's the one who accomplished something today," Jungkook said, though deep down, he was terribly excited over dinner.

While Jungkook looked down on the ground right after he mentioned this, suddenly overcome with his own desire to be as strong as his brother had been today, his father watched him with a knowing smile. The older man wrapped his arm around Jungkook's shoulders, pulling him to his chest with a gentle side hug.

"One day, you'll get to be strong enough to try your own trial. Join the assessment the moment you are old enough, or once you have gained more experience in fighting and building your own battle strategy," Jungkook's father said to him with a soft smile, as if he was able to read his boy's thoughts perfectly. "You might even be a lot stronger than me or your brother, as you started your training way early than we both ever did. And you're still growing too, which shows that you might become much bigger and stronger than your brother currently is."

His words brought a smile to Jungkook's face and his excitement quickly grew. "I won't let you down, Dad. I promise. I'll be a better warrior and Enforcer than you and Junghyun ever could."

Hearing this and seeing the way Jungkook's eyes were glowing with his exhilaration of knowing that he could do more, Jungkook's father released a boastful laugh that echoed through the woods around them. "That's my boy."